Bolster



R. T. LEISK May 5, 1953 BOLSTER 2 SHEETS-SHEET l INVENTOR.

.FCZZCZBCZ Z Jell /Z? BY Q 0' Filed Sept. 8, 1948 R. T. LEISK May 5, 1953 BOLSTER 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 8, 1948 INVENTOR. ZPczZazzcZ 7 jezsh Patented May 5, 1 953 BDLSTEB RolandT. Leisk, East Chicago, 111., assignor to American Steel Foundries, Chicago, 11., a co!- moratiomofNew Jersey Applictation september 8, 1948, Serial No. 48,192

3' Claims.

This invention relates to railway car trucks and more particularly to a novel bolster; such as is commonly utilized to connect the side frames of a freight car-truck and is adapted to carry friction devices cooperating with the frames to dampen oscillations -01; the bolster supporting s r n s- A primary object of the present invention is to devise a bolster casting having friction shoe pockets in the sides thereof and which may be more economically manufactured than conventional bolsters by simplifying the coring and cleaning of the pockets.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a novel arrangement of walls forming the friction shoe-pockets, to strengthen the construction of the bolster-which, as is well known in the art, supports the load ofthe car body.

A further-object of the invention is to provide a plurality of friction shoe stops within the bolsterpoclcet adapted to engage an essociatedgiriction shoe to limit movement thereof into the pocket under bolster impacts;

1 Still another object of the invention is to devise a bolster; such as above described; which may be quickly and efiiciently assembled" with associated friction shoes.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawings; wherein:

Figure 1 is a broken side view of a bolster em.- bodyingthe invention, the=right end thereof being shown in side elevation and the-left end thereof being shown in central vertical section;

Figure '2 is a broken plan view of the bolster shown in Figure 1, the right half of Fi gure 2 being a top plan view and the left half being a bottom plan view;

Figure 3 is an end view partly in section on the line 33 of Figure -2;

"Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary bottom perspective view of the bolster in combination with an exploded i tion shoe ass m ly- Describing the invention in detail-and referrin first to Figures 1 to 4, the bolster is a generally bOX'rSEQfi-OH member comprising top and bottom walls-2. and A and-spaced side-walls 6 and 8 connected therebetween, the bottom wall being provided with spring positioning "lugs 9.

The bolster is provided at each end thereof with an end portion having 'apooket In in each side ;Of the bolster adapted for reception of an associated friction shoe,as hereinafter described. Each pocket it is defined bya rear or-inner-wall i2 extending approximately parallel to the longitudinal center line of the bolster and connected between top and bottom walls Zand-tthereof. At-each side of the pocketlfl the bolster is formed with a diagonal web t4 connectedto the top'bolster wall 2 and sloping downwardly and inwardly therefrom toward the rearwal l' l2, as best seen in Figure 3, the lowerend of the web M- bei'ng formed with a substantially vertical segment 15 connected to the bottom wall' 4; The web "M .is formed on its underside along the upper-sloping segment thereof with a wedge face ill for cooperation with an associated friction shoe, as hereinafter described, and the segment 16 is provided with an outwardly facingstop-suri-ace ie adapted to engage the shoe to limit movement thereof into the pocket as the result of bolster impacts against the shoe under certain operating conditions, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

inboard web M, as best seen in Figure 4, is connected at its inboard-edge to asubstantially vertical wall connected to thestopaand bottom Walls 2 and i of the bolsterand :to the related rich is formed at this point with a gib adapted tointerlock with an associated side frame column inwell known manner; and the outboard of the inboard web M'is connected to a substantially vertical wall 24 which is substantially perpendicular-to the rear wall it and joins the latter at the inboard edge thereof. "The upper lower edges of wall '24- merge with "the top and bottom bolster walls Z'and t respectively, as best seen in Figure 3.

The outboard web M in similar manner is connected its outboard edgewith a substantially vertical wall 25 joining the top and-bottom bolster walls 2 and -'4 and the related side wall which is formed at this'point; with an outboard gib or lug '22 adapted to interlock with an associated side frame colunmj The inboard edge of the outboard web H2 is connected to a substantially vertical web 30 approximately perpendicular to the rear wall it and joining the latter at the outboard edge thereof, said vertical web 39 also joining said top andbottom bolster walls 2 and 3, as shown in Figure '3.

The walls 2s and 353, which are approximately parallel, are provided withal-igned openings 32 and B t respectively, for the reception or" lassoc-iated key means adapted to "key the friction shoes within the pockets [0- during assembly of the bolster and shoes with an associated frame.

The top bolster wall 2 above each pocket I is provided with a U-shaped slot 36 and a U- shaped reinforcing flange 38, the rear edge of the slot and flange affording a stop surface 40 adapted to cooperate with a shoe in the event of tilting thereof.

The bottom bolster wall 4 within each pocket It) is provided with-a bolt hole 42, serving a purpose which will best be understood by consideration of Figure 5, wherein it will be seen that the bolt hole 42 accommodates a bolt 44 passing through a complementary opening in a friction shoe 46 to be keyed within the pocket In. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the shoe 46 is provided with wedge surfaces 48 adapted for engagement with the bolster wedge surfaces l8 and the shoe is provided with a spring 50 adapted to seat against the bottom bolster wall 4 within the pocket III to urge the shoe surfaces 48 against the bolster wedge surfaces I8 whereby a friction surface 52 of the shoe 46, under service conditions, is urged against the related side frame column (not shown) In assembling the shoe 46 within the pocket l0,-as will be readily understood by a consideration of Figure 5, a washer 54 and nut 56 are applied to the upper end of the bolt 44 and the nut 56 is threaded downwardly on the bolt 44 to compress the spring 50 unti1 the shoe maybe readily entered into the pocket It] to accommodate insertion of an associated key (not shown) through the bolster key openings 32 and 34 and a corresponding opening (not shown) of the friction shoe 46 whereupon the nut 56 is unthreaded and the bolt 44 may be removed, the key being effective to hold the shoe 46 within the pocket.

After the bolster has been assembled with the side frame (not shown), the keys may be removed to permit the springs 50 to urge the friction shoes 46 against the side frame friction surfaces in a manner well known to those skilled in the art.

Thus it will be understood that I have designed a novel bolster structure wherein the bolster is provided at each side thereof with a friction shoe pocket having spaced wedge surfaces and a plurality of spaced stop surfaces limiting movement of an associated shoe into the pocket under bolster impact. Another feature of the novel bolster structure is the provision of a bolt hole in the bottom of each pocket and aligned key holes at the inboard and outboard sides thereof to facilitate assembly of the associated friction shoe, as above described. Furthermore, it will be understood that the novel bolster structure eliminates the conventional center bolster rib which is replaced by a plurality of angularly related internal bolster walls defining friction shoe pockets and adapted to afford an unusually strong construction and to facilitate coring of the friction shoe pockets thereby reducing core costs and the expenses required in cleaning the internal surfaces of the friction shoe pockets of the bolster casting.

I claim:

1. A cast steel railway car truck bolster comprising a top wall, a bottom wall, spaced side walls connecting said top and bottom walls, friction shoe pockets formed on opposite sides of the bolster and each being defined by spaced inboard and outboard webs sloping downwardly and inwardly from the top wall and including vertical segments connected to the bottom wall, a pair of spaced vertical walls connecting the remote edges of said webs to said top wall, bottom wall and adjacent side wall, another pair of spaced vertical walls connected to said top and bottom walls and also connected to and extending inwardly from adjacent inner edges of said webs, a rear wall extending vertically and joined to the top wall, bottom wall and said other pair of spaced vertical walls, said rear wall being spaced inwardly from the spaced vertical segments of said webs to define with said other pair of spaced vertical walls a U-shaped section as viewed in horizontal cross section.

2. A cast steel railway car truck bolster formed with pockets to receive friction shoes, comprising a top wall, bottom wall, and spaced side walls connecting the top and bottom walls, each end portion of the bolster including a pair of spaced parallel rear walls connecting the top and bottom walls to define therewith a rectangular box-like section extending longitudinally of the bolster, a pair of spaced vertical walls connected to each rear wall and said top and bottom walls, spaced webs connected to each pair of said vertical walls and said top and bottom Walls, the upper portions of said webs sloping downwardly and inwardly toward its related rear wall to provide spaced wedge surfaces to frictionally engage a friction shoe, the lower portions of said webs being in spaced parallel relation to its related rear Wall to provide a pair of spaced abutments to limit inward movement of a friction shoe along the wedge surfaces, and a second pair of spaced vertical walls connected to each pair of webs and to the top wall, bottom Wall and related side wall.

3. A. cast steel railway car truck bolster formed with pockets to receive friction shoes, comprising a top wall, bottom wall, and spaced side walls connecting the top and bottom walls, each end portion of the bolster including a pair of spaced parallel rear walls connecting the top and bottom walls to define therewith a rectangular box-like section extending longitudinally of the bolster, a pair of spaced vertical walls connected to each rear wall and said top and bottom walls, spaced webs connected to each pair of said vertical walls and said top and bottom walls, the upper portions of said Webs sloping downwardly and inwardly toward its related rear wall to provide spaced Wedge surfaces to frictionally engage a friction shoe, the lower portions of said webs being in spaced parallel relation to its related rear wall to provide a pair of spaced abutments to limit inward movement of a friction shoe along the Wedge surfaces, and a second pair of spaced vertical walls connected to each pair of webs and to the top wall, bottom wall and related side wall, and .U-shaped reinforcing flanges as viewed in top plan formed on the upper surface of the top wall and comprising portions in vertical alignment with their related rear walls and spaced parallel portions in vertical alignment with related vertical walls connected to the rear walls.

ROLAND T. LEISK.

References Cited in the file of this patent H UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

